It is always refreshing when you hear a band for the first time that are unique and have a style that is truly original; in this day and age of Metal that is becoming harder than ever to find. With, "The Revolution is Dead!",BLUTMOND has really delivered with their third release. Playing a style that can be described as a more modern day avant-garde Black Metal with their biggest influences drawing from legends ARCTURUS, and IHSAHN. They do create their own style incorporating a lot of Metal and non-Metal influences and surgically putting them all back together to create a unique but at the same time accessible listen.

Released through Italy's Code666 label"The Revolution is Dead!" is not what one would call a traditional metal release even though BLUTMOND's earliest incarnations were a more traditional corpse painted style of Black Metal. The band has added a fulltime Saxophone player to incorporate a new dimension to their ever growing sound.  It is utilized often as it is interwoven within every song. There are a lot of guest appearances as Anna Murphy and Chrigel Glanzmann from ELUVEITIE and members from AUTUMNBKAZE, VARG, AMON and THE VISION BLINK all make contributions.

The eclectic song "Regret" combines driving guitars, haunting piano melodies, a saxophone solo and furious double bass drumming. That doesn't include the back and forth vocal styles that intermingle with each other throughout one of the best tracks on the record. Black Metal influences make a sudden impact on "Stop The Rain, Neuzeit Jesus" when half way through the track some very fast tremolo guitar picking makes an appearance while being pushed by some furious blast beats. Another standout is the vocals of Anna Murphyon "Attention Whore!(Loss In Bliss)".Her vocals blend perfectly with John and Jerry and make for a great head banging moment.

The highlight of the album is the brilliant "Absolution Lies In Evolution". The song blasts right out of a shotgun that would have fit perfectly on John Zorn's"Naked City", with an intense Saxophone solo accompanied by a just as insane drumbeat. It then transitions into the catchiest chorus on the record with a heartfelt melody line that seeps into your soul. One of the greatest aspects of this record is the brilliant use of melody lines on the guitars and saxophone that is sometimes utilized right up front or buried behind the vocals.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the attention grabbing artwork that graces the front cover. It is a strong statement on the objectivity of women and how in today's society BLUTMOND feels that women are being treated in a very degrading way as sex objects.

The first half of the record is incredibly strong but by the middle it loses some of its lustre before it picks up again for the latter half. I would love to see them develop more of their melodic vocal approach going forward as it's one of their strengths. On their next release continuing to utilize Anna Murphyas a vocalist would prove to be a benefit as her appearance definitely adds a different dynamic.

For being such an avant-garde out of the box record, the most amazing fact about "The Revolution is Dead!" is how accessible this record actually is. At the end of the day when you get past the arrangements, the saxophone, and all of the different sounding vocalists this is a very straightforward and incredibly enjoyable listen that I look forward to discovering again and again.